British Museum Director Neil MacGregor presents Shakespeare's Restless World. The 20-part series looks at the world through the eyes of Shakespeare's audience by exploring objects from that turbulent period.
Episodes available:
Indefinitely 
Fri, 11 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
From a theatre on the banks of the Thames, Shakespeare's words have gone global. In the final programme, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, studies a volume of the Complete Works of Shakespeare that consoled the inmates of Robben Island, including one Nelson Mandela.
Thu, 10 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
Shakespeare’s audience would have been familiar with the brutalities of torture. Traitors were hanged, cut down while still alive and their bodies hacked to pieces in front of blood-spattered crowds. The relic of an eye, encased in silver, was created after one Catholic member of such a crowd managed to grab the eye of Edward Oldcorne, a gentle Catholic priest executed in 1606. This gruesome relic serves as a spine-chilling reminder that the gruesome scenes in King Lear, Titus Andronicus and beyond would have been disconcertingly close to the real deal.
Wed, 9 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
King James I's coronation transported Londoners to another world. The deprivations waged by the plauge were temporarily forgotten. Across the City of London, seven towering triumphal arches stood 90 feet above the peering crowds. These elaborate displays of street theatre survive in a book published in 1604 called The Arches of Triumph, a sort of souvenir guide of the day.
Tue, 8 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
Plague was a deadly threat for England and an almighty challenge for James I. In 1603, a fresh epidemic swept through London forcing the theatres to close for almost a year. Join Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, as he surveys a plague proclamation.
Mon, 7 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
Perceptions of time were starting to shift in Shakespeare's day. To illustrate this, Neil MacGregor explores the workings of a chiming clock made in Blackfriars in 1598. There are over 80 references to clocks in his plays, making it clear to us that 'Shakespearean' time was well on its way to being modern time.
Fri, 4 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
A symbolic act of union proved a lot harder than it looked. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the problems of creating a flag that expressed the union of a Great Britain.
Thu, 3 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
Deception and religion, cross-dressing and travelling salesmen are all unpacked via a pedlar's trunk. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, reviews the lives of those who travelled England's roads.
Wed, 2 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
Sunken gold from West Africa sheds light on the complex relationship Elizabethan England had with the Moors of the Mediterranean. But behind the glistening gold lies a more disturbing tale of xenophobia, leading to the eventual expelling of Moors from Elizabethan England. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, presents.
Tue, 1 May 12
Duration:
14 mins
A delicate glass goblet reveals the twin seductions of Venice: its sought-after luxuries and its equally sought-after lecherous women. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, visits Venice - a melting pot of nationalities, religions, classes and cultures all existing within this magnificent city built on water.
Mon, 30 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
A tabloid history of Shakespeare's England, told through a collection of contemporary accounts of plots to murder Elizabeth I and James I - A Thankfull Remembrance of God's Mercy. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, presents.
Fri, 27 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
A foiled witches' plot to kill the king - and an unusual gift of thanks. Witches were associated with James VI, through the vastly popular publication about the trials, News from Scotland, and most famously in Macbeth, the Scottish play that features three ‘black and midnight hags’ at the centre of the action. Neil MacGregor presents.
Thu, 26 Apr 12
Duration:
15 mins
The part played by magic in state and on stage
Wed, 25 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
Unlocking the language of social difference and social control. Neil MacGregor explores the life of London's apprentices and Shakespeare's groundlings through a woollen cap.
Tue, 24 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
The Irish were largely absent from Shakespeare's stage but never far from the public's minds. The war in Ireland was the great military crisis of the Elizabethan regime and almost resulted in failure for England. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, presents.
Mon, 23 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
Reminders of England's glorious history were kept ever present in the minds of the people. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the battle gear of the heroic warrior king, Henry V.
Fri, 20 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
Urban violence was a problem for the inhabitants of Shakespeare's London. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the murky world and drunken feuds of Thames life with the aid of a rapier and dagger found on its banks.
Thu, 19 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
As Elizabeth I aged, the succession was the hottest topic of the day. Open discussion was banned, but a portrait of the Tudor dynasty from 1571 demonstrates the power of metaphor and allegory in exploring such sensitive subject matter. And on stage, Shakespeare too was exploring ideas of dynasty – but behind the veil of ancient Rome and historical England. Presented by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum.
Wed, 18 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
A theatre-goer's fork excavated from the site of the Rose Theatre on London’s South Bank brings us closer to the theatre-going experience and the snacks the audience would have enjoyed. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explains.
Tue, 17 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
The Stratford Chalice is a communion cup that Shakespeare may well have used. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, sheds light on the dramatic religious changes that came in the aftermath of the Reformation.
Mon, 16 Apr 12
Duration:
14 mins
How Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe changed the way Shakespeare's audiences viewed the world and their country's place in it. Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, reveals how a medal commemorating this voyage demonstrates how England was engaging with the whole world.
Tue, 27 Mar 12
Duration:
1 min
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